Wines (12 View)
Wines (12 View)
Shopping Options
63 products
J.B. Becker Eltviller Sonnenberg Spatlese Riesling 2021
J.B. Becker Eltviller Sonnenberg Spatlese Riesling 2021
Regular price Regular Price: $35.99 Sale priceYour Price: $30.97
Save $5.02
Available: 7
This is all pretty wild. What's really fascinating here is that these wines are a throwback to a style of wine that made the Rheingau famous in the 19th century - a style that most growers abandoned in the 20th century for any number of reasons. Yet I can't say I've tasted anything like these wines in the Rheingau, or in Germany. They are so anachronistic that the standard critical engagement feels a bit ridiculous. This is just a whole different thing. You have to taste it. The Sonnenberg is perhaps the most famous vineyard Hans Josef farms; von Simmern made some legendary wines from the site in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. The wines have undeniable elegance, including this one, yet part of the stock and trade of these wines is their textural quality matched to the brightness of Riesling, matched with the powerful acids of this vintage. Only around 20 grams residual sugar. - Importer
PJ00349
Germany
White
2021
.750L
J.B. Becker Wallufer Oberberg Spatlese Riesling 2021
J.B. Becker Wallufer Oberberg Spatlese Riesling 2021
Regular price Regular Price: $35.99 Sale priceYour Price: $30.97
Save $5.02
Available: 13
As noted in the Oberberg Auslese Trocken note, this is one of the more powerful vineyards Hans Josef farms. It also tends to have one of the higher acidities and that tracks here - compared to the Sonnenberg, the Oberberg is a bit more structured, a bit more linear and zippy.Only around 20 grams residual sugar. - Importer
PJ00350
Germany
White
2021
.750L
Javier Revert Sensal Valencia Tinto 2020
Javier Revert Sensal Valencia Tinto 2020
Regular price Regular Price: $39.99 Sale priceYour Price: $36.97
Save $3.02
Available: 5
93+ points Wine Advocate
It was very interesting to taste the 2020 Sensal next to the 2019. The village red in this almost perfect harvest is a blend of Monastrell, Bonicaire, Arcos and Garnacha from older and younger vines fermented by plot with indigenous yeasts and a significant number of full clusters. The élevage lasted 10 months and was part in concrete, part in 300-liter oak barrels. The grapes achieved full ripeness and have plenty of aromas and flavors, with 13.59% alcohol, more Mediterranean while keeping the balance. This is what Sensal has to be, marked by the Monastrell, with that rustic touch of tree bark, with more color, concentration and power than the 2019 I tasted next to it. It has great depth and intensity, reflecting a superb Mediterranean vintage. 2,800 bottles were filled in July 2021.
Javi Revert is one of the best young winemakers from the Mediterranean zone of Spain. After years working for Celler del Roure, he started his own personal project. He also has a joint venture with a friend (also ex-Celler del Roure) and is the winemaker at Finca Sandoval. He has completed with plantings to have 10 hectares, half old vines planted by his grandfather and the other half planted by him, to have the grapes for the planned 25,000 bottles by 2026. He now makes some 12,000 bottles. He's conducting soils studies to achieve more precision in his wines. 2019 and 2020 were two very different vintages: 2019 had catastrophic torrential rains (the famous cold spell) of up to 300 liters in a few days in September in the middle of the harvest, whereas 2020 was a much better vintage, healthy and with very good quality, eminently Mediterranean.
Appellation: Valencia
Variety: Bonicaire, Garnacha, Monastrell, Arcos
Age of vines: 5-50
Farming: Practicing organic
Soil: Clay limestone, sand, gravel; altitude: 700 meters
Fermentation: Hand harvested, partially destemmed, natural yeast fermentation in amphorae and neutral French oak barrels
Aging: 10 months in neutral French oak barrels, amphorae, and glass demi-johns, bottled unfined with a light filtration, suitable for vegans
W20870
Spain
Valencia
Red
2020
.750L
Juan Gil 18 Meses Blue Label Jumilla 2020
Juan Gil 18 Meses Blue Label Jumilla 2020
Regular price Regular Price: $36.99 Sale priceYour Price: $30.97
Save $6.02
Available: 19
92+ points Wine Advocate
I also tasted the 2019 Juan Gil (blue label), the wine formerly known as 18 Months, the time it spends in barrel. They use 100% new oak that is a mixture of French and American. The wine is ripe, oaky and heady (15.5% alcohol), but I felt a change in the oak, which seemed more integrated. When I asked Miguel Gil, he told me they had changed the toast, using less toasted barrels, from medium+ to medium, and that shows in the wine. They still believe this wine should have new oak to give it aging potential. They have also introduced optical sorting of the grapes and eliminate the raisins (by shape) and the unripe grains (by color), and that adds precision and cleanliness. 30,000 bottles were produced. It was bottled in June 2021.
W19177
Spain
Jumilla
Red
2020
Blend
.750L
La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Rioja 2016
La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Rioja 2016
Regular price Regular Price: $39.99 Sale priceYour Price: $33.97
Save $6.02
Available: 127
95 points James Suckling
Savory and complex with dried orange peel, cedar and plenty of sweet spices, walnuts, caramel, dried mushrooms and pine needles. Shows maturity here, with a medium body and superb freshness. Incredibly long finish with lots of truffle and walnut. Lasts over a minute. Very complete now, but you can still hold it.
94+ points Wine Advocate
The 2016 Viña Ardanza Reserva was produced with 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha that matured in used American oak barrels for three years, where it was hand-racked from barrel to barrel six times in the case of Tempranillo and five times for the Garnacha, as it had a slightly shorter élevage of 30 months. Against all odds, I found the 2016 to be fresher than the 2015 and less developed, despite the fact that winemaker Julio Sáenz told me he considers it a warmer year. But I have found many wines I like in 2016, and the wine feels very clean and quite harmonious, younger and less developed, with more primary notes and a velvety mouthfeel. 600,000 bottles produced. The wine was bottled in June 2020.
PJ00359
Spain
Rioja
Red
2016
.750L
Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Reserva Rioja 2012
Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Reserva Rioja 2012
Regular price Regular Price: $39.99 Sale priceYour Price: $34.97
Save $5.02
Available: 254
Savory aromas of subtle earthy berries, oranges, iron and hints of walnut, tobacco and mushrooms. Fine tannins with high acidity on the palate with juicy, savory berries and a long, citrusy finish. A hint of tertiary caramel character at the end, making this very complex and complete. Drink now or in the next 10-15 years.
93 points Wine Advocate
The 2012 Viña Bosconia Reserva is perhaps a little too young (María José López de Heredia likes more polished wines, and for her this wine was too tough), with some tannins and the chalky texture from the limestone soils. This blend of Tempranillo with 15% Garnacho and 5% between Graciano and Mazuelo matured in used American oak barrels for five years. 80,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2019.
PJ00699
Spain
Rioja
Red
2012
.750L
yes
Marie Weiss Champagne Brut NV
Marie Weiss Champagne Brut NV
Regular price Regular Price: $36.99 Sale priceYour Price: $31.97
Save $5.02
Available: 59
A well-balanced Champagne, with a vibrant backbone of acidity and a creamy mousse, this offers spice and tea rose accents to the crushed white cherry, toasty and candied lemon zest flavors. Clean-cut finish.
A blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Meunier and 25% Chardonnay from the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs; about half of the juice comes from 1er Cru and Grand Cru vineyards.
The Marie Weiss label is produced by the superb, small Champagne house of Ployez-Jacquemart, which is located in the small village of Ludes on the Montagne de Reims. The Marie Weiss bottling is produced entirely from purchased grapes or must, and the new release was quite a lovely bottle. The refined and complex nose wafts from the glass in a blend of apple, white peach, brioche, a nice touch of fresh nutmeg and a lovely base of chalky soil tones. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, crisp and wide open, with good mid-palate depth, lovely focus and complexity, elegant mousse and lovely balance on the long and classy finish. This is not quite as structured out of the blocks as the Ployez-Jacquemart Brut NV, which really is built to age long and gracefully, and the Marie Weiss is a lovely counterpoint from the Ployez family for those who really want to drink their bubbly right after it is purchased.
W20548
France
Champagne
Sparkling
.750L
Marques de Riscal Gran Reserva Rioja 2017
Marques de Riscal Gran Reserva Rioja 2017
Regular priceYour Price: $38.99
Available: 315
Spicy oak to the black berries, blueberries and plums. Pretty fluid despite the medium to full body with nicely chewy tannins. Fine-grained, structured and long.
W00265
Spain
Rioja
Red
2017
Tempranillo
.750L
Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut Champagne Blanc NV
Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut Champagne Blanc NV
Regular price Regular Price: $44.99 Sale priceYour Price: $39.97
Save $5.02
Available: 301
Round and fruity, like a good Macon Chardonnay. Shows apple and berry flavors in a soft yet balanced frame. Drink now. ?BS - WS87
W-00002194
France
Champagne
Sparkling
.750L
yes
Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Reserve NV
Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Reserve NV
Regular priceYour Price: $36.97
Available: 81
91 pts Wine Spectator
An aperitif-style Champagne, with flavors of creme de cassis, lemon curd and pastry riding a creamy mousse and framed by crisp, well-knit acidity. Drink now through 2020.
"It is composed of 20% of the Chardonnay grape variety, for elegance and delicacy, 40% of Pinot Noir, for roundness and structure and 40% of Pinot Meunier for fruitiness. Pale gold in color, abundance of delicate bubbles. Floral aromas of fruit with subtle predominance of white fruits: pear, apple, almonds and hazelnuts. Fresh opening, smooth, pleasant and balanced." Winemaker notes
W-00001974
France
Champagne
Sparkling
.750L